The Idiosyncrasies of Predators
by Sheilynn
Summary: A BtVSSentinel crossover. Two predators walk into a room...sounds like good a joke, huh? Believe me, it's not funny when it actually happens. A one-shot story.
1. The Idiosyncrasies of Predators

Disclaimer:  Not mine, never will be.  They belong to their respective whatevers.

A/N:  

OK…I had, in no way, planned on writing this, but you know how it is with some story ideas…they won't get out of your head until you write them.  So I did, and here it is.  It's a "one-shot", with absolutely NO plans for a sequel.  And no matter if you want one, no amount of begging with get me to write one.  This is it!

I should have been writing the next chapter of "When It's Time To Change", but this happened.  For those of you who are wondering if I had abandoned it, don't worry, I _will_ continue it.  I haven't been feeling all that well for the past couple of months, and am suffering from a distinct lack of energy.  I've been to the doctors, testing for thyroid and PCOS, both of which came back negative (which is a good thing), and now am waiting to find out the results on the testing for mono (yes, you heard right, mononucleosis).  I can only hope it will be something that simple.  On top of the lack of energy, I caught a cold, which has had its claws in me for the last week.  Grrrr.  Send me energy waves…I definitely could use them.

This is a BtVS/Sentinel crossover, spanning a short period of time (roughly 18-24 hours), in order to avoid Sentinel canon mistakes (it's been a long time since I saw the show).  If there are any _rabid_ Sentinel fans reading this, and you find a mistake, you can just consider it AU then.  BtVS is a year after the end of Season 7, Sentinel is wherever it will fit within its (unfortunately) short 4 seasons…if it fits into the "after Season 4" time slot, so much the better.

Enjoy!

**The Idiosyncrasies of Predators **

An odd pair walked down the street – a tall, distinguished looking man, graying at the temples, whose demeanor managed to make even his casual wear appear formal, and a diminutive blonde woman, the personification of a young, hip Californian, who drew several glances due to her respectable, but skin baring outfit – an oddity in the cooler climate of the Pacific Northwest…heavy on the North. 

"So, who are we supposed to meet again, Giles?"

"A…uh…Mr. Sandburg," the man named Giles responded after he took a brief glance at the paper he was holding.

"And the reason for dragging me out to the Land of Barely Any Sunshine is?..."

"Mr. Sandburg appears to be the type of person we could recruit into the new Watcher's Council.  I told you this yesterday morning, Buffy."

"Yeah, but I hadn't had any coffee yet.  You expect me to remember stuff without any caffeine in my system?" Buffy gave him a look of reproach over her sunglasses.  

"With as much coffee as you drink, I'm surprised your hand isn't permanently attached to a coffee pot."

"So says Mr. Teapot," Buffy smirked at him.  "And just _why_ am _I_ here?  I'm not exactly a Watcher, Giles."

"Practical demonstration."

"Huh?"

"If Mr. Sandburg is interested, I will need to reveal the purpose of the Watcher's Council, and it wouldn't do to be laughed out the door because I can't provide proof of the existence of a mystical warrior."

"Huh?"

"Oh for Heaven's sake, Buffy!  When I tell him about Slayer's, you'll demonstrate what one is!"

At her grin Giles knew he'd been had, and sheepishly returned her smile.  Buffy definitely knew how to push his British buttons.

"So, what makes Mr. Sandburg so special?" Buffy quirked her eyebrow at him.

"He has spent several years researching primitive tribal cultures, focusing on a genetically gifted being called a 'Sentinel', who, apparently, was supposed to have hyperactive senses.  Regardless of whether or not he actually believes such a being existed, I feel that the quality of his research, the interest in mythical beings, and his possible open-mindedness would benefit us, if he chooses to join."

"He doesn't wear tweed, does he?" Buffy looked skeptical.

"I haven't worn tweed in 6 years, Buffy!  Would you lay off the tweed!"

Buffy laughed, "Gotcha again, Watcher-mine."

Giles scowled at her before his lips twitched in response to her laughter.   He eventually gave a soft snort of laughter and shook his head.  He wondered if he would ever become immune to her teasing.

Looking down at the paper in his hand, he read the address again before looking up at the building numbers to see if they were any closer to their destination.  He stopped as he realized they had almost passed the building they were going to.

"This is it," Giles said, looking at the entrance.

The two entered the building and, after giving a dubious glance at the aging elevator, headed up the stairs to the third floor.

Giles followed the numbers on the doors, until he reached the one that matched what was on his paper.  Taking a brief moment to straighten his tie, he then reached out a hand and knocked on the door.

They both heard a brief rustle, then footsteps coming closer to the door.

"Who is it?" A young male voice called out from within the apartment.

"It's…uh…Rupert Giles.  I have an appointment with Mr. Sandburg."

After a brief rattling of unlatching locks, the door opened to reveal a long-haired man in his mid-20's.

"Oh, hey, Mr. Giles!  Nice to finally meet you.  I'm Blair Sandburg.  Please, come in."  Sandburg motioned them in, giving a friendly smile.

Giles entered, returning the young man's smile and shaking his hand.

The moment Buffy stepped across the threshold, her senses went on high alert, and she gave a small gasp.

At the sound, Giles turned back to her, giving her a questioning look.  Buffy shook her head, and gave him a look of reassurance.  He nodded, and turned back to the young man who, after closing the door behind them, stepped ahead of his guests and guided them towards the living room.

Giles followed, and after a brief hesitation, so did Buffy.  Something about the apartment was making the young woman uncomfortable.  For the sake of Giles, she pushed it aside, but kept alert.  

"Please, have a seat Mr. Giles and Ms….?" Blair looked at the pretty blonde questioningly.

"Summers.  Buffy Summers, but please call me Buffy."  Buffy responded with a smile, holding out her hand to shake his in greeting.

The moment their hands met, the uneasy feeling Buffy was feeling disappeared, only to return as soon as he let go.  Buffy shook her head in confusion as she sat in the sofa next to Giles.

"Buffy?  Is something wrong?" Giles asked softly, careful to ensure that his question was for Buffy's ears only.

"No…yes…I-I don't know Giles.  Something about this place is giving me the wiggins," Buffy responded just as quietly.  "I'll be OK."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure, Giles.  Go ahead."

Blair looked at the two in interest, questions in his eyes.

"So, Mr. Giles, what can I do for you?"

After a stuttering start, Giles began to discuss the purpose of his visit.  And, after Blair revealed that, yes, he did believe in the existence of Sentinels, both in the past and present, Giles expanded his talk to what most people believed of as myths, and felt Blair out on the subject.

Buffy sat quietly next to her Watcher, occasionally shifting nervously, her wary gaze darting about the room, but not taking part of the conversation between the two men.

"So, what you're saying is that these myths _do_ exist, and you're part of a group of people who fight them?" Blair asked skeptically, not quite dismissing the idea, but not totally believing it, either.  

"Yes," Giles replied firmly.  "I know it's a lot to take on just my word, which is why I brought proof with me.  What do you know about Slayers, Mr. Sandburg?"

"Slayers, slayers, slayers…" Blair looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought.  Bringing his gaze back to the other man, he responded, "I remember briefly reading something about them years ago during my search for information on Sentinels, but I can't quite remember much, since I never followed up on them…I was too deeply entrenched in my thesis project.  Weren't they supposed to be some kind of warrior?"

Giles nodded, "Not were…_are_.  And Buffy here is one of them."

Upon hearing her name, Buffy brought her attention back to the conversation.

Blair looked at the small woman in surprise.  "Her?  But she's so…so…"

The young man drifted off, not wanting to be rude.

"Small?  Tiny?  Weak looking?" Giles finished the sentence, giving Buffy a smirk at her affronted look.  "Believe me when I say that it has been entirely to her advantage, Mr. Sandburg.  Vampires and demons often make that same mistake, giving her the upper-hand."

"I'm not sure what to say at this point, Mr. Giles.  It's a lot to take in."  Blair shook his head, not quite in disbelief, but, yeah, in disbelief.  "You said you had proof, and that Buffy was it?"

"Yes.  Buffy?" Giles stood, and gestured the young woman to walk to the other side of the room.

After Buffy moved to the indicated spot, Giles removed something from his pocket, showing it to the young man, who gasped in surprise.

"What are you going to…" Blair started, but was interrupted by Giles quickly drawing his hand back and throwing said object at the young woman.

Blair yelled in surprise as he stood, looking frantically at the woman, expecting her to be on the floor, blood pooling around her form, only to see that she had caught the object, a long knife, by its pointed tip.

Buffy looked at him, eyebrow arched.  

In shock, Blair sat back down heavily, gaping at the young woman as she approached him, handing him the knife, handle first, which he accepted absently.

After a few false starts, Blair finally said, "What do you want from me?"

Just as Giles was about to respond, Buffy gave a large gasp, swaying where she stood.

"Buffy!  What is it?!" Giles asked, worried.

"I-I…I don't know, Giles!" Buffy said.  With another gasp, she said, "It's coming!"

"What?  What's coming, Buffy?!  What are you feeling?!"

"I'm in its territory, and it's coming back," Buffy responded, confused.  "That's what I felt earlier.  Like I was in someone's territory…that this place was protected.  It was only when I held Blair's hand that the feeling went away, but it came back when he let go."

Blair jumped up in surprise.  "Mr. Giles!  Would you classify a Slayer as a hunter?  A predator?"

"Well…yes, I would.  Slayers hunt dark creatures, so I believe they could be categorized as a predator."

"Oh God…Oh God!"  Blair paced, running a hand through his hair in agitation.  He wasn't all that knowledgeable on the idiosyncrasies of predators, but he knew for a fact that if two predators met, bad things happened, especially if one invaded the others turf.

"What is it, Mr. Sandburg?!" Giles asked sharply, quickly becoming worried.

"Sentinels are real, Mr. Giles, and they are generally considered protectors, and in some regards, as predators or hunters!  During my thesis research, I found someone who became one…and he's my roommate…no, the _owner_ of this apartment!" Blair said, panicked.  "You have to leave…you have to leave _now_!  If he finds her here, there's no telling what could happen!"

But it was too late.  Just as Blair began to move towards the door to usher his guests out, the jingling of keys could be heard.

"It's here," Buffy said.

"Oh God." Blair whispered.

*****************************************************************

Jim Ellison, police detective of the Cascade Police Department, was glad to be home.  It had been a rough day, and the absence of his energetic partner hadn't helped to defuse the stressful environment.  He looked forward to seeing the kid, if only to get vicarious energy by watching him bounce around the apartment as he talked about whatever subject happened to be in his head.

He wondered how Blair's meeting went.  Looking at his watch, he figured that he just may find out first-hand, depending on how long the kid's guests had planned on being there.

Trotting up the stairs, he pulled out his keys and unzipped his jacket.  Half shrugging the coat off as he reached his door, he unlocked it with his freed hand, and removed the rest of it as he opened the door.

Tossing the keys on a nearby table, he called out, "Blair?  You here?"

Jim took the few steps into the living area, and just as he heard his roommate softly chanting 'Oh God, Oh God…this is _not_ happening', he felt something wrong and froze.

His eyes locked on the figure of _her_.

He felt his hypersensitive eyesight kick in, narrowing on the woman's hazel eyes, forming some deeply felt connection between them.  Through the connection he immediately knew what she was…a predator, a hunter…but not for him and his.  He felt her strength, her agelessness, and her femininity, and only one thing became the focus of his thoughts…

_'Mine!'_

*************************************************************

The three occupants in the living room watched as a tall, broad-shouldered man entered the room only to freeze at the sight of the young blonde woman.

Blair could see his friend's special eyesight activate and focus on Buffy.  As he saw Jim's hands clench the jacket he still carried, Blair knew something bad was going to happen if he wasn't able to defuse the situation quickly, especially when Buffy stiffened in response.

"Jim!  Jim…come on man, focus on me!"

The tall man ignored him, continuing to stare at the young woman.  With a growl, he firmly said, "Mine!"

"No." Buffy responded just as firmly, stiffening even further.  Her stance changed to one that indicated she was readying for a battle.

"Jim!  She's not here to harm anyone.  Don't zone out on me, man!" Blair panicked, gingerly stepping closer and waving his hand at his roommate, trying to get his attention focused elsewhere.  "Come on…at least give me your gun…you don't want to hurt anyone, Jim.  Come on!"

Somewhere, deep inside, Jim must have heard his friend, as he dropped his jacket and quickly unbelted the shoulder holster, removing it from his frame while never letting his gaze leave the young woman.

As Blair carefully approached, he took the leather holster and its contents before he attempted to get his friends attention again by gripping his forearm.

It was the wrong move to make.  Jim roughly shoved him aside as he slowly stalked towards the woman.

"Mine!"

"Jim, don't!  Mr. Giles, help me!  Get her out of here!  Now!"

Giles turned towards his charge, trying to break her visual connection with the approaching man.

"Buffy!  Come on, we have to go!  Buffy!"

When there was no response, Giles placed himself in front of her in an attempt to keep the tall man from doing whatever it was he planned on doing.

That was a mistake.

Jim grabbed the British man by the throat and threw him to the side, then stepped in the place previously occupied by him, towering over the diminutive woman.

He sniffed, breathing in her scent, then softly growled, "Mine."

Buffy defiantly looked up at him and said, "No!"

The tall man grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, lowering his head to capture her lips.

Giles gaped at them, quickly making a connection.  "Oh Dear Lord!"

He scrambled to his feet just as Buffy pushed away the big man with another defiant, "No!"

Things got violent at that point, and Giles hightailed himself out of the way, heading towards the door where the young, long-haired man stood in shock at his friend's actions.

At a loud crash, Giles turned his gaze back to the two people left in the living room, only to see the tall man, now identified as Jim, easily block the punches and kicks dished out by Buffy.  His steps faltered in surprise.  No human should be able to brush off the strength of a Slayer.

Giles reached Blair's side, and the two watched as Buffy and Jim systematically destroyed the room.  Buffy throwing objects at the big man who, in turn, brushed them aside as he stalked her.  Various pieces of items now lay littered around the room, and it looked like there would be no end to it until one or the other gave in.

"What should we do, Mr. Giles?!  I've never seen Jim act like this!" Blair hugged the holster and gun to his chest in his uncertainty.

"There's nothing we can do, Mr. Sandburg.  Buffy has the strength of ten men, so there is no way you or I could stop her.  As for your friend," Giles rubbed his throat, "he shouldn't have that kind of strength."

"What do you mean?"

"He tossed me away like a used Kleenex.  No man, no matter how strong, has that kind of strength, which leads me to believe something else is going on here."

"What?" Blair asked, feeling like a small fish in a big sea.

"I'm not quite sure, Mr. Sandburg."

At a howl of rage, the two turned back to the living room, and were dismayed to see that Jim had caught his elusive prey, and had her hands cuffed together.  The tall man proceeded to lift the struggling woman onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry, and stride towards the stairway.

"We have to do something, Mr. Giles!"

"We can't.  Any action on our part, especially now, would be seen as a challenge," Giles responded in a strained tone.

"A challenge for what?!"

Giles flushed in embarrassment as he said, "To be her mate."

"What?!"

"To be her mate.  Mating rituals of predators tend to be violent, and will only end if the female escapes or the male succeeds in subduing the female.  If either of us try to interfere, your friend would consider it a challenge."

"M-Mating rituals?!" Blair looked gob smacked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Oh God…we have to stop them!  Jim will never forgive himself if he takes her by force!"

Blair moved to stop his friend, but was held back by Giles' hand.

Shaking his head at the young man, Giles softly said, "He would never forgive himself for killing you either, Blair."

"But…"

"Neither he, nor Buffy, are in their right minds at this point, Blair.  He _would_ harm you for interfering," Giles replied, sadly watching as Buffy, the girl he saw as his own daughter, was carried up the stairs, with some difficulty, by the tall man who had captured her.  There was nothing he could do for her now, and he knew she would understand that.

"Come, Mr. Sandburg.  It's time for us to leave," Giles said abruptly, dragging the young man towards the door of the apartment.  At his hesitation, the British man slyly continued, "Unless you want to see and hear things you don't want to."

Blair ran out the door, leaving a chuckling Giles to follow.

As the door closed, anyone standing in the apartment would have heard the young man ask, "But don't some mating rituals end only when the female becomes pregnant?"

_**THUNK**_

"Oh Dear Lord."

*************************************************************

When Jim woke, he immediately knew something was wrong.

He was naked and curled around a warm…he moved his hand…definitely female, body.

He groaned as the memories of the previous evening flooded back into his head.

Feeling the woman stiffen in his arms, he carefully extracted his limbs from around her frame, and rolled onto his back with a soft 'Oh God'.

The woman rolled onto her back, until she was lying next to him, not quite touching.

"Dammit!" She said softly.  "I was hoping it was just a dream.  A naughty and kinky dream, but a dream."

Jim didn't know how to respond to that, so he kept silent as the woman turned her head to look at him.

"Well, it was definitely naughty and kinky, but," she paused as she moved her hand to lightly squeeze his forearm lying next to her hand under the sheets, "nope, not a dream."

Jim let out a brief snort of laughter.

"Buffy Summers."

"Jim Ellison."

There was a moment of silence before Buffy finally said, "Well, I'd shake your hand, but I'd really appreciate it if you could remove these first."

She held up a hand, showing him the metal handcuff that encircled her wrist, a couple of links still attached.

Jim flushed as he remembered just _how_ she ended up in handcuffs, and rolled to the side to retrieve the key out of his side-table.  As he did so, he noticed the state of his room.

"Oh…my…God!  Did we do that?"

"If you're asking about the demolition of your bedroom, from what I can recall of last night, I'd have to go with a resounding 'yes'," Buffy said with a hint of humor in her voice.  "But I'm afraid to say that I'm responsible for that."

Jim rolled back to see her pointing towards the head of his bed.  He looked to where she was indicating, only to see several of the railings destroyed.  He choked on whatever he was going to say, and silently handed her a key before flopping onto his back.

"Thanks."

Buffy quickly unlocked the handcuffs and removed them, rubbing her wrists.  She handed the pieces to the silent man, along with the key, which he placed on the, surprisingly undestroyed, side table.

"So."

"So?" Buffy prompted.

"What are you?"

"I am female, hear me roar." Buffy quipped, then sighed, looking at him as she said, "A Slayer."

At his questioning expression, she shifted onto her side, tucking the sheets around her breasts.

"There's a longwinded quote usually told by stuffy old British men, but the long and short of it is that a Slayer is a mystical warrior given enhanced speed, strength and senses to fight really evil things that go bump in the night."

"Evil things?"

"Vampires, demons, and generally most things you think are myths.  They're real, most people just don't know it.  How about you?"

"What about me?"

"What are you?"

"What makes you think I'm anything but human?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at him.  

"This," Buffy gestured between them, "wouldn't have happened if you were any old Joe-shmoe human being.  There's something about you that reacted to my Slayer side, so don't give me that 'I'm _just_ a regular human being' crap."

Jim sighed and turned on his side, mirroring Buffy's position.

"I'm a Sentinel.  A _regular_ human being," he smirked at her glare, "who is genetically advanced to have hypersensitive senses.  Sentinels are usually tribal members who are watchmen – someone who protects their tribe by watching for enemies, changes in the weather, or movement of game.  I'm somewhat of an anomaly, since I'm not from a tribe.  Apparently my solitary time spent in the wilds of Peru honed my senses to those of a Sentinel."

Buffy nodded her understanding, then rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling in contemplation.

Jim stared at her, waiting for a response.

"So," he started, "What the hell happened last night?"

*******************************************************************

"Do you think it's safe to go back yet?" Blair asked for the fifth time in as many hours.

Giles sighed, trying not to get annoyed with the young energetic man.  "Blair, I think it would be safe to assume that either Buffy or Jim would call one of us whenever they…uh…finished."  

Blair's cheeks flushed in embarrassment at the thought of just what 'finished' entailed.

"So…uh…where am I going to sleep then?"

"Since it's quite late, I don't believe we'll hear from our friends until morning.  I suppose you can use the hotel room that Buffy was to use.  Perhaps we'll hear from Willow soon."

After their escape from the 'Love Nest', the two men had spent the time hashing and re-hashing theories for their friends' reactions to one another, but was only able to tentatively conclude that, as Blair put it, 'They're a man and woman in their prime, enhanced with powers beyond the norm, who recognized something in each other on a primitive level, and acted on it'.

Giles had finally given up any thoughts of keeping it private, and called Willow to have her search the Watcher's electronic archive for any historical precedence.  Willow had fluctuated between gasps of horror and the giggles, but promised to do what she could.  Giles could only hope she would be discrete.  

************************************************************

"So," he started, "What the hell happened last night?"

Buffy sighed, turning back on her side again.

"Well, I can only guess that you saw someone invading your turf, and instead of killing it, a.k.a. me, you decided you wanted to do the horizontal mambo."

"So this is my fault?!" Jim asked incredulously.

Buffy laughed.

"This isn't funny, Summers." he growled.  "I don't know how you can be so flippant about the fact that I pretty much raped you."

She stopped laughing, and looked at him seriously.

"Let's get one thing straight, Ellison, there was _no_ rape," Buffy replied firmly.

"But…"

"No."

"I handcuffed you to the railing and ripped your cloths off!"

"I told you it was kinky," Buffy laughed.

Seeing that Jim was getting angry, Buffy became serious again, "Listen.  Last night…do you want to know what I saw?  Leaving out the fact that we were both reduced to acting like cave people, it all boiled down to the fact that, deep down, I saw a strength in you, and you saw strength in me.  All you said was 'Mine', but what you were really saying was 'She would be a good mate for someone as strong as I am'.  When I said 'No', I was saying 'Prove it, and I'm yours'.  To cut to the chase, you proved it.  And regardless of the fact that I fought till the end, I was as much an active participant as you were."

Jim looked dubious.  "How can you be so sure."

"I can't say I know exactly what _you_ were thinking, but I know what _I_ felt.  From the moment you put the handcuffs on me, you won, and at that point I wanted it as much as you did," Buffy explained gently, then smiled, "But I still wanted to make you work for it."

He was still unconvinced, and looked away from her knowing gaze.  Buffy reached out a hand to grasp his chin, bringing his eyes back to hers.

"Look, Jim, both of us are above and beyond what is considered _normal_ for human beings.  We're genetically enhanced in some capacity, of which said enhancements are for the purpose of protecting those who can't protect themselves.  We _hunt_ things that threaten the protection of innocents.  We are hunters.  We are protectors.  We are _predators_.  We are so closely intertwined with our primitive side that we can't help it coloring our actions.  Last night was proof of that."

Then, giving him a quirky grin, she stroked his cheek as she ran her eyes down his chest before meeting his eyes and saying, "And I have to say that, my primitive side made a _damn fine_ choice."

That made him laugh.

He smiled, and slowly reached out a hand to run it through her golden hair.

"I'd have to say the same about mine, too."

They smiled and reached for each other to share a gentle kiss.

Lying back down, Jim continued to run a hand in her hair as he asked, "So, what now?"

"Now we have to make a decision."

Buffy had such a solemn look on her face that Jim's hand froze.

"A decision?  What decision?  If it's about trying out a relationship, I'm all for it."  Jim broke off when Buffy looked away, and he had a sinking feeling he wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"Buffy?"

She turned her hazel eyes back to him, a strained look on her face.  "What do you get when a man and woman have sexual relations, the woman is in the most fertile stage of her cycle, and no protection is used?"

Jim paled in realization.

"Oh God."

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?  Isn't it too early to tell?"

"We were driven by a compulsion last night, Jim.  When the compulsion suddenly goes away, there's usually a reason."

"But that doesn't mean you're pregnant!"

"I just feel it.  Somehow I know that I am.  I feel different."

"Different how?"

"As a Slayer, I've always felt an undercurrent of the need to hunt.  It's gone now…well, maybe not gone, but overshadowed by the need to protect myself…the need for you to protect me."

Jim fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"We'll get married then."

Buffy smiled gently at him, and said, "No."

He looked shocked for a moment, then quickly became angry.

"Dammit Buffy!  It's my child too!  I want to be a part of their life!"

"I never said you couldn't," Buffy said.

"Then why…"

"My parents got married because my mom got pregnant with me, and ended up having 15 years of loud arguments and a very messy divorce because they found out they were just too different – I was caught in the middle of the fall-out.  I won't let any child of mine go through what I did, if I can help it."

"But…"

"It doesn't mean we can't try having a relationship in the mean time," Buffy said gently.  "If it works out, great.  But if it doesn't, we'll figure something out."

Jim looked frustrated.

"But you don't even live here.  How can we work things out or try anything if you're not around.  How am I supposed to protect you?"

Buffy thought for a moment then, coming to some internal decision, she said, "I can't make any promises that everything will work out between us, but I can promise you this; though it may take a little time, I _will_ be around; if things work out, I _will_ marry you; if things don't work out, I will make every effort for you to be a large part of our child's life.  Can you work with that?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"We all have choices, Jim."

"You'll move here?"

"Yes."

"You'll try a relationship with me?"

"Yes."

"Can I choose the baby's name?"

"Maybe."

"Will he or she have my last name?"

"Yes."

You'll marry me next week?"

"Jim…"

"Hey, I had to try."

Buffy laughed.

Jim sighed before saying, "I guess I can work with it."

Buffy smiled at him, and he couldn't help but believe that things would work out.

Taking a look at the clock on his side table, he said, "Well, it's still too early for us to call our friends.  How about a shower and breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me."

Jim made a move to leave the bed, but was halted by Buffy calling out to him.  He turned back to see her plucking at the sheet, looking uncertain.

"Buffy?"

She hesitated a moment before saying, "Can we…can we have one for us?"

He looked at her, confused.

She ducked her head, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.

"Last night was all about the compulsion, but now…" she trailed off, her cheeks flushing even more.

Jim immediately understood.  Placing a hand under her chin, he lifted her face to his.

Smiling at her, he said, "I think we can manage that."

He lowered his head and captured her lips with his.

Things quickly heated up.

And…oh boy…did they manage.

********************************************************************

Later that morning, Jim and Buffy spent some quality time getting to know each other.  

Knowing that they couldn't take a lot of time, for the sake of their friends' sanity, they gave a brief history of their life, with promises to go into more detail at a later date.  

Jim almost popped a blood vessel over several of Buffy's more gruesome stories, but managed to reign in his newly developed protective instincts.

At a more reasonable hour of the morning, Jim called Blair to give him the green light on returning to the apartment, and asked him to pass on Buffy's request for a set of clothing to Giles.

Not wanting to go over everything twice, he evaded Blair's questions as best he could, which almost caused his friend to panic.  After spending a few futile moments trying to soothe the young man's nerves with general platitudes, he finally stated, point blank, that if Blair wanted any answers, to hightail it back to the apartment.  He hung up with a 'And don't forget Buffy's clothes!', fully expecting his friend to make a loud frantic entrance when he arrived.

Sure enough, not 20 minutes later, they heard pounding footsteps in the hall.  Jim had left the door unlocked, knowing Blair hadn't had time to grab his keys, and his friend took full advantage of the fact, bursting into the room with a frantic yell of 'Jim!', causing the door to crash against the wall.

Even though he was expecting it, Jim still jumped into protect mode, and placed himself in front of Buffy, giving Blair a fierce glare.

Blair halted a few steps away, taking in Jim's stance, and Buffy peeking around him, a look of amusement on her face.

"He's your friend, Jim.  He's not going to hurt me, so don't kill him, OK?" Buffy said with a hint of humor in her voice.  "Hi Blair."

Buffy stepped around Jim's much larger frame, but wasn't allowed to move any further when Jim wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.

Blair gaped at her for a moment, taking in the borrowed clothing that dwarfed her slight frame, before he finally said, weakly, "Hi Buffy."

They all turned towards the door when they heard a soft 'thud'.  Giles had finally made it to the apartment.  Having been weighed down with a large carry-on bag during his mad rush to follow the younger man, he panted heavily.

Upon seeing his charge, he let out a relieved 'Buffy!', and quickly approached her.

Jim's arm tightened around her waist, and he gave the older man a look of warning.  Upon seeing this, Giles, too, halted his stride a few steps away, giving Buffy an uncertain glance.

Turning to the large man who gripped her protectively, Buffy laid a soft hand on his chest and said, "Jim, he's like a father to me.  He's just worried, OK?"

Shaking off the uncharacteristic possessiveness, Jim released her from his tight grip.  Buffy took the opportunity to move towards Giles, who hesitated a moment before clasping her in a relieved hug.

Jim stared at the two for a moment, making sure that the hug was of the familial kind, and not a move on his girl, before turning to his own worried friend.

"I'm OK, Blair.  Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?!  Nothing to worry about?!  You go all caveman with the one word speeches and growling, and you call that nothing to worry about?!" Blair responded, his voice rising.  "I thought you were losing it!  Do you even _know_ what happened?!"

Buffy and Giles had broken off their hug at the young man's raised voice, and Buffy quickly moved to intervene before anyone lost their tempers.

"We kinda figured it was some kind of compulsions driven by our particular 'gifts', Blair.  Something like the primitive side of our psyche saying 'Hey, I got a thing, you maybe have a thing, maybe we could have a thing', but skipping all the 'maybes' and 'could haves' and jumping straight to the 'we will'."

Giles, having extensive experience in interpreting Buffy's California-speak, understood what she was saying and gave a small snort of amusement.

"That's one way of putting it, though I wouldn't have mutilated the English language when I attempted to explain that you turned caveman and tried to boink each other until you passed out."

Buffy blinked at him.  "You said boink."

"What?"

"You said boink."

"I most certainly did not."

"Yes you did."  Buffy turned to Jim and asked, "Did he, or did he not say boink?"

Shooting the British man a look of amusement, Jim replied, "I'm afraid you did, Giles."

"Oh Dear Lord, I'm spending too much time with you and your sister.  God save me from American youths!" Giles moaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"We're corrupting you….Yes!" Buffy jabbed a fist into the air.

Jim and Blair chuckled at Buffy's antics.

After almost losing the borrowed shorts for the fifth time that morning, Buffy asked Giles if he had brought her any clothes.

"By the door, Buffy."

While Buffy moved towards the door, Jim gestured Giles and Blair towards the kitchen table and offered them coffee, which both accepted gratefully.

Buffy's slightly annoyed voice called out to her Watcher.  "I said a set of clothes, Giles, not my whole bag!"

"Yes, well, I didn't want to have you yell at me that the shoes I brought didn't go with your shirt, or that I should know that one is not supposed to wear a g-string with leather pants," Giles retorted.

Blair spit out his coffee.

Jim's eyes glazed over, and for a moment, Blair thought he was zoning until he noticed his friends heavy breathing and dilated pupils.

"God, Giles.  You are so fashion challenged."  Buffy hefted the bag easily, and made her way up to the loft bedroom.  Halfway up the stairs, she paused, calling down, "And for your information, one _does_ wear a g-string with leather pants…it's with stretch-pants that you go commando!" before continuing her ascent.

With a breathy 'excuse me', Jim raced towards the stairs, and bound up them, three steps at a time.  Blair and Giles heard a soft 'thud' and Buffy's squeaked 'Jim', and shared a glance before breaking out laughing.

"Oh God…she's already got him wrapped around her finger," Blair panted out between chuckles.

"I think it's more likely that she has her fingers wrapped around something else."

The two men burst out laughing again, and retreated into the kitchen, stumbling on legs made wobbly from lack of breath.

*****************************************************************

Twenty minutes later the two re-appeared, clothes and hair slightly ruffled, and Buffy sporting a faint hickey on her neck.

"Hey, where'd you guys disappear to?" Buffy called out, slightly breathless.

Blair and Giles emerged from the kitchen.

"It would do well for you both to remember that this apartment is not really designed for privacy, Buffy," Giles teased mercilessly.  "For the sake of our innocent eyes and ears, Blair and I sought refuge in the kitchen."

Buffy flushed a rosy red, and even Jim's cheeks sported a slight pink, though he was grinning madly.

She snorted in disbelief, "Innocent, my ass, Giles…or should I bring up Ripper, huh?"

Blair arched an eyebrow at that, while Giles scowled at her.

"That was a very long time ago, Buffy."

"So, what?...you somehow regained your innocence over the years?" Buffy teased back just as mercilessly.

Giles rolled his eyes at her, causing Buffy to laugh.

"Enough about my past, Buffy.  I think it's about time we talked about _your_ present…and future," Giles said firmly.

Buffy sobered immediately.

"Could I be safe in the assumption that I should start searching for an appropriate facility here, since you now have a very good reason to stay?" the British man said, giving a pointed look to her mid-drift. 

"Yeah," Buffy responded softly, cheeks slightly flushed.

Not realizing that he had been tensely waiting for her confirmation of her staying in town, Jim was slightly surprised when he felt his body relax.

Looking confused between the two out-of-towners, Blair asked, "What reason?"

Jim wrapped his arms around Buffy from behind, placing a hand on her stomach.  Buffy leaned back against him as he stroked her tummy with his thumb.

Blair saw the gesture and gaped.  "No…way!  No…friggin…way!"

He looked up at his friend for confirmation or denial.  Upon seeing his friend's smile and slight nod, Blair's face became blank.  After a moment, a large grin broke across his face.

"Oh man!  Unreal!  This is _so_ cool!" Blair bounced on his heels with so much excitement, one would think that _he_ was the one who was having a baby.  "Are you sure?  I mean, Giles and I thought that it could happen, but we weren't positive."

"We're pretty sure, Blair," Jim said, amused at his friend's enthusiasm.

"So, you're getting married then?" Blair grinned at them.

"No." 

"Yes."

Buffy twisted her head to glare at the tall man behind her.  At his own pointed glare, she sighed and turned back to the young man giving them a confused look.

"Not right away, but maybe eventually," Buffy said firmly, tweaking Jim's arm when he tightened them around her on the word 'maybe'.  "We're going to try and work things out, which is why Giles and I are making plans to look for a facility here."

"A facility for what?" Both Blair and Jim asked.

Giles and Buffy exchanged glances before Giles, the consummate mediator, said, "Why don't we discuss this over coffee, hmm?" 

Jim released Buffy with one last squeeze.  The four adults eventually sat at the kitchen table (since the living room was still in a state of chaos), cups of coffee before them, and a carafe in the middle of the table.

The two Californians then spent the next couple of hours explaining, in more detail than Buffy had given Jim earlier, the last battle in Sunnydale, the loss of the Watcher's Council, and the activation of the other Slayers. 

"So, what you're saying is that you have hundreds of little girls, all over the world, running around, untrained, with enhanced strength?" Jim asked incredulously.

"And no support system in place?" Blair added.

"In short, yes," Giles said, running a hand through his hair.  "We've done what we could over the last year, but we're finding it increasingly difficult in finding replacement Watchers.  It's a delicate situation, and we can't hire just anybody without risking another corrupt Council.  We extensively searched your own background before approaching you, Blair.  You exuded all the qualifications for the type of person we are trying to actively recruit – a young, eager, open-minded, person, who works hard, but doesn't have a craving for power, or the need to control people."

"With the added bonus that you don't wear tweed," Buffy quipped.

"Buffy!"

She grinned unrepentantly at her Watcher, causing Blair and Jim to chuckle at the two.

"Getting back to the situation at hand…we're basically trying to find the right type of people who would both nurture and support these young girls, without trying to turn them into their own personal army.  In addition, the facility we spoke of would be for the purpose of both having a place to train these young girls, and some kind of dorm for them to live in during their stay."

"So you're planning on creating some kind of academy?"

"Basically, yes," Giles confirmed.  "We're currently working out of a colleague's residence, but have finally gotten settled enough to where we need to look for a more permanent place of our own in order to begin implementing our ideas."

"And you want to do that here?" Blair asked.

"It wouldn't have been my first choice, but, to be honest, the location really doesn't matter, since it won't be the only one.  We don't want to make the same mistake that the previous council did by having all our 'peas in one pod', so to speak," Giles shrugged his shoulders.  "We planned on having Buffy in charge of most of the training at the headquarters facility of the new Watcher's Council, and since she has every reason for staying here…"

Buffy smiled at the large man she was snuggled up to and said, "See…I told you I'd be sticking around."

Jim tightened his arm around her shoulders in a brief hug, stroking her blonde locks.  He looked at Giles, asking, "What can we do to help?"

"Well, you know the area better than we do, so if you could help us find a few buildings that will fit our needs, or connect us with a real estate agent, I would appreciate it.  There's nothing else we can do, at this point, without accommodations.  But I _would_ like to know if Mr. Sandburg would be interested in joining the council."

Giles cocked his head in question at the young man across the table from him.

"As interesting as it sounds, Giles, I have other obligations right now," Blair waved a hand towards Jim.  "But I have no objection to giving a hand during my spare time."

"Considering what you've told me about your responsibilities, that's more than I could possibly hope for," Giles nodded his head in understanding.  "Perhaps we could look at it as Watcher training for your eventual placement in the Council at a later date, say, when Mr. Ellison retires from the force?  We, of course, will provide compensation for your time."

Poking Jim in the arm, Blair said, "You hear that?  _They_ plan on paying me."

"It wasn't _my_ idea to give you the shaft, Blair," Jim shrugged his shoulders at him.

Blair glared at him.

"Of course, you are welcome as well, Mr. Ellison," Giles continued with a small smile on his face.  "Your military training would definitely be beneficial to us.  While all Slayer's instinctively know how to fight, their form generally tends to be sloppy.  And I know for a fact that _someone_ still tends to drop their left shoulder when fighting."

Buffy glared at him.

The talk moved to more detailed plans that the core Sunnydale group had come up with over the past year, and the group of four adults spent a relaxing day together, getting to know one another, and firming up their newly formed friendship.

And that, dear readers, is how the main branch of the newly formed Watcher's Council ended up in Cascade, Washington.

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Epilogue snippets:

Jim and Buffy eventually _did_ get married…the day before their first baby was due.  And if it wasn't for contraceptives, they would have had a ridiculous number of children.  As it was, they still ended up with ten rugrats before Jim decided to get snipped in order to keep the headcount down.  On his retirement from the Cascade police force, Jim took up a head position within the council, guiding the newer recruits with a firm hand and gentle voice.  Buffy, having retired from active slaying ten years later, also took up a head position, but focused more on being a confidante and den mother to the new Slayers, in addition to being Head of Training.

Xander eagerly moved to Cascade as soon as Giles purchased the buildings that would house the new Watcher's Council, not wanting to be in the presence of 'Deadboy' any longer than necessary.  With his experience in construction and carpentry, he took over the refitting and rewiring of the buildings, and took on the position of Head of Maintenance in the Watcher's Council.  He eventually got a Slayer of his very own, capturing the heart of Rona, and had his own passel of children (six in all).  To this day, he still claims to only be 'donut guy', but everyone knew that he was still the heart of their group.

Willow had planned on staying in L.A. with Kennedy, but, having caught her in bed with Lorne, claiming that she 'wanted to trying swinging a different way', Willow dumped her and moved to Cascade in order to be closer to her friends (and godchild – which eventually expanded to 'godchildren').  She took on the duties of keeping the new Watcher's Council updated on the latest technology, creating an awe-inspiring network that spanned the world, but made sure to try and keep them out of the military lime-light, knowing they would be jealous of their, as Buffy put it, 'kick-ass electronic doodads'.  In addition, Willow also taught budding wiccans the magic ropes, which began a new branch of the Watcher's Council – Magical Support.  The Council ended up having to purchase another set of buildings just to accommodate sheer number of magic users who were interested in fighting the good fight.  Over the years, Willow eventually became the mother of 5 red-headed, magically-inclined, caffeine-intolerant little rugrats of her own.  The Father?....

Giles, excited at the prospect of guiding a new Watcher's Council down the right path, took it upon himself to invite several parish priests and nuns of varying dominations to hold places within the Council, feeling that, in order to avoid the same mistakes that the old Council did, they needed gentle wisdom and secular guidance, in addition to military know-how and business acumen – It didn't hurt that they had immediate access to the blessing of items, either.  Giles kept himself quite busy, his energy belying his years.  But everyone, no matter what their age, has a breaking point.  On a particularly rough day in the early days of the creation of the new Council, he escaped to his private quarters and relaxed himself with a couple tumblers of scotch.  He was eventually tracked down by a single-minded red-head, who, having a difficult day of her own, joined him in his repast.  Giles interrupted Willow's babble on technology origins with a well-placed, drawn-out kiss, and one thing led to another.  After many occasions of blushing faces and stammering conversations over the next couple of months, Buffy finally got fed up with the two and dragged them in front of the head priest within the Council and told him to marry her two friends.  He did, which was a good thing too, as it was found out that, at the time of the impromptu wedding, Willow had been two months pregnant.  Although both of them were too shy to admit it at first, Giles and Willow _had_ fallen in love before they got married.

Blair, upon the retirement of his best friend, also took up a head position within the council.  His suggestion of finding other Sentinels to join their group was accepted with open arms, and, like the wiccan group, created another branch within the Council, though it was much smaller (Sentinels _were_ rare).  The first several years were spent searching out rumors of Sentinels in obscure tribes, finding said Sentinels, inviting each to the Watcher's facility, and training them more fully in their gifts.  It was during this training period that Blair discovered that there were a few girls, in a couple of their tribes, that had become slayers, and almost all the tribesmen's people had some type of demon problems.  The new council quickly made arrangements for the girls to come to the academy to be trained and set up on their technological network, in order to be able to contact them for information on how to defeat specific demons.  After the first group of Sentinels and Slayers were sent back to their homes, their small network slowly expanded as each tribesman and slayer came across others like them, and brought them to the attention of the Watcher's Council.  Blair eventually married Buffy's sister, Dawn, who, upon her graduation from Oxford with a PhD in languages, became the Head of Research.  Blair and Dawn contributed to the growing number of the next generation of Scoobies with a respectable four children.

Over the decades, the Watcher's Council facilities grew to be a campus of learning and training.  Admittance was by invitation only, and many a young researcher dreamed of being invited, if only getting their hands on the ancient works housed there.  The military _did_ eventually find out about some of their technology, but had to pay through the nose in order to acquire some of it, and were only allowed to have it if they signed several documents stating they would, in no way, try to reverse engineer it.  Of course, you know the military…unfortunately (and unbeknownst to them), the wiccan branch of the Watcher's Council, with some well placed curses, ensured that the technology couldn't be duplicated.  With a multitude of bright minds flowing into the mecca that was the new Council, and adding their own individual contributions, sales of and patents for various items kept the new Watcher's Council solvent.  And whether it was an Ellison, a Harris, a Giles, or a Sandburg, it was always a descendent of the original gang that was in charge, and who kept the Watcher's Council on the right track. 

Of course, nothing always stays perfect, and it was some hundreds of years later that a descendant of Ethan Rayne somehow got added to the Scooby gene pool.  It made for some _very_ interesting times…but that's another story.

~Finis~

And no, no sequel.

I'm almost afraid to ask anyone to review, but, before you ask…yes, I _was_ on drugs…the Tylenol Cold & Flu type.  I make _no_ claims to being sane at the time I wrote this.


	2. The Consequences of Curiosity

God Dammit Dur'id the Druid!!  You had to go and put an idea into my head, didn't you?!!  Stop it, alright?!  I really didn't want to do any type of sequel or side story to this, but you _had_ to get me thinking, didn't you!

*grumble* *mutter*

Fine!

Read!

Be Merry!

Just stop putting ideas into my head!  OK?

**The Consequences of Curiosity**

**Cheyenne****Mountain******

**Colorado Springs****, ****CO******

"You broke it."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Yeah, yeah, you're very, very sorry…but…but you still broke it," he let out a whimper of loss.

Colonel Jack O'Neill stared at the object in his hands, face contorted with pain, looking like he was about to cry.  His second in command, Major Samantha Carter sat quietly in front of his desk, a look of contrition on her face, feeling very, very small.

"Why?"

"Sir?"

"Why did you break it?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, sir." 

*Whimper*

"You broke it."

"Yes, sir.  I'm sorry, sir."

*Whimper*

"Do you know how hard it was to get this?"

"Yes, sir."

"You tried to reverse engineer it, didn't you?"

Major Carter hunched over in embarrassment.  "Yes, sir."

"Carterrrrrr…*whimper*…now they won't let us have any more."

"I'm sorry, sir."

Colonel O'Neill tossed the (now) useless item onto his desk, and dropped his head into his hands.  He was extremely upset, and was doing his best not to let his second in command see just _how_ upset…military men don't cry, after all…big no-no.

The two highly emotional officers were interrupted by someone entering Colonel O'Neill's office.  Jack lifted his head to see who dared interrupt his moment of pain.  

It was one of the SGC's newer recruits…some kid named Graham Miller…Army…if O'Neill remembered correctly.  The young man had been with them for almost a year, and showed great promise in leading his own team, some time in the near future.

"What can I do for you, Miller?" O'Neill asked with a heavy voice, dragging a hand down his face.

"I was told to bring you these files, sir.  They're the updates on the Tok'ra situation, sir."

O'Neill gestured at the 'In' basket on the corner of his desk.

Graham dropped them into the metal bin, glancing at the object in front of the Colonel – or objects, as it were, since the item was obviously in several pieces.  He gave it a double take.

"Is that…"

"Yes," O'Neill interrupted with a waspish voice.

"You tried to reverse engineer it, didn't you?" Graham responded in an amused voice.

O'Neill glared at the blonde woman on the other side of his desk, who hunched even further – which was almost impossible for someone as tall as her.

"Yes," O'Neill growled.

"Oh man…Willow's gonna be pissed," Graham said, continuing with a belated 'sir'.

"Who?"

"Willow," the younger man responded.  "You _did_ get this from CoW, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but what has that to do with whoever this Willow is?"

"Willow works for CoW…probably designed that, sir," Graham responded, gesturing at the pieces on O'Neill's desk.  "They _did_ warn you that it would become defunct if you messed with it, didn't they, sir?"

O'Neill jumped out of his chair, causing his chair to crash back into the wall, and grabbed the young man's arms.

"You _know_ them?!  How do you know them…her…um…?  Can you get another?!" 

"Um…I knew them from when I was stationed in Sunnydale, California – my last CO dated her best friend.  And I'm not sure, sir."

"How well do you know them…her?  Enough to convince them to give us another one?" O'Neill looked hopeful. 

Graham carefully extracted his arms from the older man and took a step back before replying, "I didn't know them all that well…well, except for Buffy, Willow's best friend.  We worked with Buffy a few times, and she saved our bacon when an experiment went crazy.  I can't say we parted on the best of terms, but she _was_ friendly when I saw her again a couple of months later, so I guess she doesn't hold a grudge."

"Well, you know them a helluva lot better than anyone else on this base, Miller!"

O'Neill grabbed Graham's arm and pulled him around the desk.  Pushing him into the chair, the Colonel grabbed the phone and dialed the base's operator.

"Can you connect me to CoW in Cascade, Washington?...Okay, yeah."  Pushing the handset into Graham's hand, O'Neill barked, "Talk to them!"

Graham brought the phone to his ear, giving the Colonel a dubious look as he heard ringing from the earpiece.  

Upon hearing the line connect, and a sickeningly cheerful 'CoW, how may I direct your call?', the younger man stuttered, "Uh…can I, uh, speak with Buffy Summers, please?"

"Who may I ask is calling?"

"Graham.  Graham Miller, a friend of Riley Finn's."

"Hold one moment, please."

Graham was surprised to hear the Stone's on the hold music, but was thankful it wasn't irritating advertisements or some kind of elevator music of mangled pop songs.

"I'm on hold, sir."

O'Neill tapped his foot in impatience.  Pointing at Sam, he said, "You, keep quiet," then punched the 'Speaker' button.

"Hey!  The Stones…cool."

Graham was thankful that the music seemed to relax the agitated man somewhat.  He was on hold for a couple of minutes before the line finally reconnected, and a familiar cheerful voice was heard, making the younger man smile a little.

"Yo, Graham!  Long time, no talkie.  How ya been?  Not messin' with body parts again, are you?"

O'Neill shot the younger man a curious look.  Graham flushed.

"Uh, no, Buffy.  I've been on the straight and narrow – full bodies only, Buffy, and not doing any messing.  I swear," Graham responded, embarrassed.

"That's good to hear!" the young-sounding woman said.  "I just talked with Riley and Sam last week, and they're all safe and sound in corn-hell, Iowa, so I know you're not calling about them.  What can I do for you?"

"Well…um…I'm actually calling for one of the higher-ups here at the base in Colorado Springs.  They…um…want to know if they can get a replacement for an item that broke."

"Broke?"

"Um…yeah."

There was a moments pause before Buffy responded, laughter in her voice, "They tried to reverse engineer it, didn't they?"

"Um…yeah," Graham responded, embarrassed at having to be the one to admit that the military couldn't keep their word.

"Willow's gonna be pissed, ya know?" Buffy laughed before asking, "What piece is it?"

O'Neill scribbled something on a piece of paper, handing it to the younger man.

Graham scrunched his eyes, holding the paper away from his face, then bringing it back towards his face as he tried to interpret the Colonel's scrawl.

"Um…the…uh…BAD-ASS unit."  (A/N: Brainwave Activity Detector and Assessment of Surrounding Safety – used to detect the presence of possible hostile creatures with higher brain activity, in a one mile radius, that could pose a threat)

"Which one?"

O'Neill scribbled another note.

"The…uh… Death Star Model."  Graham gave a snort of amusement, "Cute, Buffy."

"Blame Xander for that one," she laughed.  "Oh man…Willow's gonna be _really_ pissed.  You know that model's only been available for six months, don't you?"

"No, I didn't, but I can see why she'd be pissed.  It's a good piece to have in unfamiliar territory – I've used it myself, though it was an earlier model," Graham continued to smile slightly at the humorous name.  

"You can still find unfamiliar territory in Colorado Springs?" Buffy laughed.  "_That_ statement smacks of the word 'classified', so I'm not gonna even ask."

Graham snorted in amusement.

"So, what do you want from me?"

"Uh…um…well…"

Buffy laughed again, taking pity on the stuttering man, "Let me take a guess, Graham.  You want a replacement.  And when the higher-up guy found out that you know us, he roped you into pleading their case, knowing that the attempt to reverse engineer the unit broke the confidentiality clause between us, which would result in the immediate decision to cut them off from future business deals."

"Got it in one, Buffy," Graham said sheepishly.

The woman on the other end of the line giggled, saying, "And let me venture another guess that he's standing behind you, breathing down your neck, hoping to all the thousands of Hell dimensions that you don't screw up."

O'Neill barked out a laugh – he liked this girl.

"You're correct, Ms. Summers," O'Neill interjected.

"Who am I speaking with now?"

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, Ms. Summers."

"It's Mrs. Ellison now, Colonel Jack O'Neill.  Can I assume that, though you may not have been the one to make the error in judgment, you _are_ the one in charge of them?"

"In a manner of speaking…I'm her Commanding Officer."

"Good.  How about taking me off speaker, and having a l'il ol' private chat.  Hmm?"

O'Neill pressed the 'Speaker' button, turning it off, then took the handset from the grinning younger man.

"I'm here."

"Well, Colonel Jack O'Neill, we have us a situation here.  Tell me…what's the sitch with your little woman of bad decisions?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well…would you honestly say that this was a situation of an attempt to reverse engineer, or a matter of too much curiosity mixed with a distinct lack of thinking about the consequences?"

"Ohhhh…knowing my second in command as well as I do, I would definitely say it was the latter."

Buffy laughed, "I know the type only too well, Colonel.  Don't worry, we trained her out of it eventually."

"That's good to hear.  It gives me hope," O'Neill chuckled.  "So, Mrs. Ellison, what can we do to get back in your good graces…and get another one of these doohickies?"

"To be honest, Colonel, that's gonna require a little bit of effort and a personal visit from your second in command to our facility."

"Why a personal visit?" O'Neill asked, curious.

"For Willow to give her a little talking to," Buffy chuckled, "And believe me…she'll think twice about making the same mistake after Willow gets done with her."

That piqued O'Neill's interest.  "Care to elaborate?"

"No can do, Colonel, wouldn't want her to come prepared, now would we?  It would defeat the purpose.  Graham's a good man, Colonel.  And, since Graham is a good friend of a good friend, I _can_ give you some friendly advice."

"And what would that be, Mrs. Ellison?"

"Willow reeeeeeaaaaalllly likes Godiva chocolates," Buffy snickered.  "And she's most responsive when apologies are well spoken and heartfelt."

"Understood, Mrs. Ellison.  We'll be there tomorrow morning."

"See you then, Colonel, and be sure to bring the broken unit with you.  Could you put Graham back on the phone?"

"Sure thing."

Smiling in relief that getting a replacement wasn't going to be as hard as he thought, O'Neill handed the phone back to Graham.

Having taken the phone off speaker, O'Neill could only hear Graham's half of the conversation, but the single word responses gave him no clue as to what they were discussing – though, with the smiles that broke out on the younger man's face, and his relaxed posture, it could only be good.

With a final 'I promise', Graham said good-bye and hung up the phone.

"So, things good?" O'Neill queried.

"Yeah…she made me promise to keep in touch," Graham smiled.

"And?"

"To keep an eye on Carter, sir."

O'Neill barked out a laugh.

"You hear that, Carter?  You've got yourself a watchdog now."

Carter whimpered.

O'Neill clapped a hand on the back of her neck and, using the collar of her shirt, pulled her out of the chair.

"Come on, you rebel, we have some shopping to do.  Then _you've_ got an apology to write and memorize."

Carter whimpered again.

*****************************************************

**CoW**** Headquarters**

**Cascade, WA**

"Impressive."

Colonel Jack O'Neill stood before the largest building in the gated complex.  While its appearance was very professional, it seemed to have an ominous presence of its own.  

O'Neill shook off the feeling of being watched and grasped the elbow of his second in command who was clutching a box to her chest and silently mouthing her apology over and over again, making sure she would remember it correctly.

The two quickly entered the building and, after giving their names, stood waiting in the lobby.

After a short wait, they were directed to a special elevator behind the receptionist's desk.  The young woman swiped a card through the security box, then pressed her hand on a pad next to it.

O'Neill raised an eyebrow at the extensive security, wondering just who or what was being protected within the building.  He silently entered the elevator behind Major Carter.

With instructions to exit the elevator when the doors next opened, they were left to travel alone in the small compartment as the lift went up.

On its arrival, the doors opened to reveal another reception desk.  O'Neill identified themselves again, and they were ushered to office down the hall on the left.

With a sharp knock, the young woman opened the office door, then gestured the two guests to enter, closing the door behind them after they stepped in.

O'Neill immediately took in the sight of an older man and two young women, one blonde and the other a red-head, chatting at the desk in the large, opulent office.  The blonde pushed away from desk where she had been leaning, and approached, hand outstretched.

"Hi.  Buffy Ellison.  You must be Colonel O'Neill."

O'Neill nodded and shook her hand.

"And this is?"

"Curious Georgette…otherwise known as Major Samantha Carter."

Buffy chuckled, then gestured for the two to approach the desk.  Waving a hand at the older man, she introduced him as Rupert Giles, Head of CoW.  O'Neill shook his hand, but Carter didn't move as she continued to clutch the box to her chest.

"And this is Willow Giles, Head of our Technology Department."

Before anyone did or said anything, Carter rushed up to the desk and fumbled the box into the space in front of the red-headed young woman.

"I'm very, very sorry that I tried to find out how the BADASS unit worked.  The military had nothing to do with it, and I'll never ever do it again…I promise," Carter blurted out, then slumped into one of chairs in front of the desk.

O'Neill snorted in amusement.  _'THAT took her four hours to write?!'_

Just when the Colonel thought she was done, Carter's techno-babbling reared its ugly head.

"It's just that I've never seen anything like the stuff we get from you.  It's _way_ ahead of everything else available to the military!  Something like the BADASS unit should still be the size of a compact car, and you were able to make it as small as a palm pilot!  And the technology!  I've never seen a chip like that, nor the wiring to be so minimal!"

Willow's eyes narrowed on her, and she held up a hand to stop the blonde woman's speech.  Carter fell silent, and hunched down in embarrassment.

"Just how far did you get in dismantling it, Major Carter."

"Um…I was able to disconnect it from its power source, and remove the chip and wiring.  I was starting to download the code into my desktop when it went 'Pffft', frying the circuits."

The three members of CoW exchanged surprised glances before Willow looked back at the blonde woman.

"Then you have gotten a _lot_ farther than anyone else, Major Carter.  Just be glad you didn't continue…it would have melted, and probably set fire to your table."

The red-headed young woman fell silent for a moment, then gestured to Buffy.

Buffy nodded her head and grabbed O'Neill's elbow in an _extremely_ firm grip.  She dragged him to the door and, upon opening it, pushed him firmly out.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, Colonel.  This is where Willow gives her a good talking to.  Don't worry – she won't be hurt."

"Why can't I stay?"

"It's a private matter, Colonel.  We won't be long," Buffy said firmly before shutting the door in his face.

The Colonel tried to open the door, but found it locked.  He pounded on it and yelled out for them to let him in, but got no response.  He gave it a kick for good measure before turning his back to the door and leaning on it.

_'Damn Carter and her curiosity!'_

****************************************************************

Ten minutes later, Jack heard the door-handle jiggle, and quickly pushed away from the door before it opened and made him fall on his ass.

Turning around, he was concerned to see a pale, shaking Major Samantha Carter emerge from the office, clutching a different box to her chest and being pushed gently out by a slightly smirking Buffy Ellison.

"Carter?  You OK?"

"Black…veins…floating…"

"Carter?" O'Neill shook her shoulder before turning to the smaller blonde and angrily asking, "What the hell did you do to her?"

"Willow gave her a good talking to, that's all," Buffy laughed.  "Don't worry – she should get over the shock in a few hours."

"If I've found that you've harmed her in any way, you'll regret it Mrs. Ellison," O'Neill growled as he wrapped an arm around the tall blonde woman and guided her gently back to the elevator.

It was a relatively quiet drive back to the airfield that housed the plane they had arrived on, Carter occasionally muttering single words like 'black', 'floating', 'veins', 'fingers', and 'lightening'.

As they sat in the plane, waiting for it to take off, Carter finally shook off the shock to some degree, and turned wide eyes to the man who looked on in concern.

With a fervent, "_Never_ piss off Willow Giles," she shoved the box at O'Neill before curling up in her seat.

O'Neill opened the box to see a brand new BADASS unit, but couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it as he watched his normally unflappable second in command quiver in her seat.

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Epilogue snippet:

After another 5 years with the SGC, Colonel Jack O'Neill finally succumbed to the age old adage 'I'm too old for this sh**', and went back into retirement.  Carter soon followed, claiming that the SGC just wasn't the same without her Commanding Officer (but we all know the _real_ reason).  Carter not only left the SGC, but left the military altogether, and accepted the CoW's offer of a job, having had 5 years to get over the Willow-induced heebie-jeebies.  O'Neill followed almost right on her heels (a lot of following going on, huh?).  The two married within a year, brought on by Sam smacking Jack in the head with a freshly-caught Salmon and giving him an ultimatum…it was the fish, or her.  After quickly realizing that choosing the fish meant 'no sex', Jack chose Sam.  Sam managed to pop out two kids before her biological clock broke a spring, and it was only a few short years later that she profusely thanked the Goddess that they didn't have more, since both kids took after Jack.  The two O'Neill kids spent many a year running around the CoW complex yelling 'ring me up, snake-head', much to the confusion of the other children.  After one too many 'I'm sorry, honey…it's classified', Jack gave up and joined the CoW (if only to know what the hell was going on – 'Don't swear in front of the children, Jack!'), and was a trainer in special-ops…skills that came in handy with many a slayer.  The two had a good, if kooky, life together, following only one rule…never, ever, EVER piss off Willow.  

~FINIS~

That's it!  PLEASE don't ask for more!  I'm begging you!

I guess I should have warned you all in the beginning that the original story was kinda flippant, he?  Sorry about that.

Now stop asking for sequels, dammit!


	3. Inadequately Yours

*Sigh*  You guys are just too much!  Plot bunnies are being thrown at me outta nowhere, and I can't seem to help myself.  Please stop!  

And Malaskor…thanks a lot for burrowing another hole in my head and shoving a plot bunny to nest there.  Grrrr! 

Not exactly happy with this one, but here ya go.  It's a mixture of flippant and serious, with a little mush thrown in at the end.

**Inadequately Yours**

It must be said that men can only take so much.

When the wife is smarter than the husband, it is only a matter of time before the husband must leave before his brain leaks out of his ears.  

When the wife is stronger than the husband, it is only a matter of time before the husband must leave in order to distance himself from the feeling of inadequacy.  

As it were, it was one of those funny coincidences in life that happened one fine evening at the Headquarters of the new Council of Watchers.

"Nnnngah!"  Two male voices choked out in stereo.  

The two men looked at each other from outside the doors of their respective residences – one man in his mid-twenties, the other in his early fifties.

"Feel like getting out of here?" the older man asked.

"Oh yeah!" the younger one agreed, nodding emphatically.

The two swiftly made their exit to the streets of Cascade, WA.  And, with no destination in mind, they walked aimlessly down the streets, physically distancing themselves from their individual problems.

"So…" the older man began.

"So?"

"What happened with you?"

"I couldn't open up a jar of peanut-butter.  You?"

"I couldn't comprehend a specific law in quantum physics."

"Who'd want to?"

"My thoughts exactly.  Sam disagreed," Jack O'Neill, retired Colonel of USAF, responded.  "So, you couldn't open a jar?  Why's that a problem."

"Rona mocked my manly strength."

"Ahhh…the mockingness.  Bad move."

"Yeah."

The two men fell silent as they continued to walk into the night, leaving their feet to choose their way.  After a few moments, the younger one spoke up again.

"Do you ever feel that you'll never be enough for them?  That one day they will wake up and ask, 'why am I with this shmuck'?" Xander, the younger male of the original Scoobies from Sunnydale, asked.

"Every day."

"What do you do?"

"I wait for the day that I wake up asking, 'why am I with this shmuckette'."

"Cute."

"I thought so."

"Think it will ever happen?"

"No."

"Why not?"

The older man thought for a moment before answering, "Because I can't live without her."

"Yeah," the younger man agreed softly.  "Do you ever think they'll wake up and smell the coffee…about either of us?"

"Maybe one day."

"What do you think they'll do?"

They were interrupted before Jack could answer.  

"Nzmbg frstz cpartr mzbgr! Raaaaarrrrrrrrr!"  

A seven foot, ugly radioactive green…thing…erupted from the alleyway next to them.  Its intentions were _very_ clear.  Hurt…maim…hurt some more…probably kill…maybe eat.

Jack and Xander stepped to the side at the last moment, letting the force of the creature's charge propel it forward into the street.  

The monster, having expected to meet with the opposing force of a solid object – namely the two men – fell on its face.  It immediately jumped to its feet and turned back to its intended victims.

"Well, that's rude!  We're having an important conversation here, butthead.  Go attack someone else," Jack said, shooting the monster an irritated look, making shooing motions with his hands.

The monster did the classic posing and roaring, trying to intimidate the two men.

"Oh, now _that's_ scary…not!  Rona gives a more evil glare when I leave a wet towel on the bathroom floor," Xander snorted derisively.

"Really?" Jack asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah.  I call it the 'Death Glare'," Xander responded.

"Hmmm…Sam doesn't have a good glare yet, but she's got the eye-roll down pat."

If possible, an affronted look crossed the monster's face.  It roared, charging the two men again.  The two men sighed, then stepped back at the last moment again.  The monster took a header back into the alley.

"*Sigh*  I don't think it's gonna leave us alone, Jack," Xander said, shaking his head sadly.

"Probably not.  I think we're gonna have to take some _serious_ measures if we want to continue our conversation."

So saying, Jack sauntered into the alley, picking up a discarded board along the way.  Xander was close on his heels, retrieving a lead pipe from the ground where it lay.

The two men quickly subdued the monster with several well-placed whacks on its head and back.  Xander made sure to knock out its kneecaps, to ensure that it couldn't regain its feet.

"Is it dead?" Jack asked unconcernedly.

"Nah.  Just unconscious," the younger man responded indifferently.

Xander moved towards the monster again, and sat on its back.

"What are you doing?" the older man asked in a surprised voice.

"Playing 'King of the Mountain', in hopes of regaining some of my manliness feelings."

"Ahhh," Jack nodded his head in understanding.  He moved to the other side of the monster before asking, "Do you mind sharing your throne?"

Xander scooted forward a little and waved a hand in welcome, "Have at it."

Jack sat on the available portion of the monster's back, which was a considerable amount of space considering the size of the creature.

"So, you never answered my question, Jack."

"What was it again?"

"What do you think they'll do when they wake up wondering why they're with us shmucks."

"I would like to know the answer to that as well," a third voice said from the entrance to the alley.  "And what, pray tell, are you two doing?"

"Hey, Giles.  We're regaining some of our manliness feelings back.  Care to join us?" Xander raised a hand in greeting.

"Of course, of course…but you do realize that the creature is beginning to regain consciousness, don't you?"

"How can you tell?" Jack raised an eyebrow at the British man.

"It has extended its tentacles, and you are both in danger of being strangled to death by them," Giles responded casually.  Holding out a hand for the pipe Xander still held, he said, "May I?"

Xander gave him the metal length, quipping, "Knock yourself out…or it, if you prefer."

"Hmmm…I prefer, I believe," Giles said, "I'm trying to break the cycle of my being the one to be unconscious."

So saying, Giles gave the creature a good thump in the noggin, upon which, the creature became unconscious once again.  The ten tentacles, that were threatening the two nonchalant men sitting on the creature's back, dropped to the ground.

Giles unsheathed a sword he was carrying at his side and gestured for Jack to move from where he was sitting.  As soon as Jack stood and took a step back, Giles severed the tentacles on one side with chop.

"Xander, if you would be so kind as to get the others?"

The younger man loosened the medium-sized axe from his belt and, chopped off the other five tentacles in the typical Xander way…one-by-one…with commentary.

"This little piggy went to the market in Hell Dimension number four hundred seventy-two. *chop*  This little piggy stayed in a home that wasn't his. *chop*  This little piggy had some really nasty salt infested corn beef that had been sitting in the refrigerator for weeks and was growing radioactive fungus. *chop*  

"Oh for heavens sake, Xander.  Would you _please_ finish!" Giles said, shooting the younger man an irritated look.

"Almost done, G-man.  This little piggy had none, for which it was thankful, 'cuz it woulda made him sick anyhow.  *chop*"

"And this little piggy would have gone wee-wee-wee all the way home, except for the fact that us manly men wouldn't let it. *chop*" Jack got the last one, not wanting to be left out of the peanut gallery comments.

"Just so!"

"Yeah!"

After removing the last tentacle, Jack reclaimed his seat on the creature's back, while Giles knelt at the creature's head.

"Hmmm…I do believe this is a Zamphorg demon.  They are known to be one of the most vicious demons in several hell dimensions, though not particularly intelligent.  How did the two of you manage to defeat it?" Giles asked, curious.

"We let it use its brain," Xander quipped.

Giles chuckled.  "Well, that would have done it then.  May I ask why you two are sitting on it?"

"Regaining our manliness feelings," the two responded, in sync.

At the British man's confused look, Xander clarified further.

"It's called 'King of the Mountain', Giles.  Ring a bell?"

"I am familiar with the concept," Giles nodded his head.  He fell silent for a moment before asking, "May I join you?"

The two other men shifted to make room for him, and the British man took up a position where he could easily use the pipe to ensure the creature's continued state of unconsciousness.

"So…we're all playing 'King of the Mountain'," Xander said, lips twitching.

"And?" Jack queried.

"And there are three of us," Xander grinned.

"If you start singing 'We Three Kings', I _will_ become violent, Xander," Giles said grimly, giving the younger man a glare.

Jack snorted in amusement.  Xander wisely kept his mouth closed, though his lips still twitched occasionally.

"So, what did _you_ do, Rupert?" Jack asked, curious.

"Oh!  Oh!  I can answer that one," Xander interrupted.  Giving the older man a knowing look, he queried, "You called her computer 'that dread machine' again, didn't you?"

"I'm afraid so," Giles responded with a sigh.  "I just wish Willow would realize that not everyone can understand how technology works."

"And I wish Sam would realize that not everyone can understand quantum physics."

"And I wish that Rona would realize that not everyone can open up a jar of peanut-butter."

Giles and Jack gave the younger man an odd look.

"Hey!  It's the Slayer strength thing…work with me here, OK?"

"Very well."

"Yeah, sure."

The three men fell silent for a moment before Xander prompted Jack for the third time.

"So, Jack.  Do you have an answer to my question?"

"I'm not sure, kid.  But I have to believe that they would realize we're better than any _other_ shmuck they could have picked."

"Yeah, sure.  Like I could compete with a 'Rambo-wannabe' if they came knocking at her door," Xander said bitterly.

"Like I would be in a better situation if a Nobel Prize winner came along?" Jack retorted.

"Probably not," Xander said sympathetically.  "Hey, Giles.  You're being kinda quiet there.  It's share-time, and you're not sharing."

"Riley."

"OK…that is _so_ not the response I was expecting."

After taking a brief moment to knock the creature unconscious again, Giles turned to the two men who were waiting for an explanation.

"Remember Riley?"

"Captain Cardboard?  Yeah.  What about him?"

"Do you remember why he and Buffy never worked out in the end?"

"Yeah.  It was because he felt that he _had_ to be better than she was, and he couldn't handle that he wasn't and never would be.  So what does that have to do with _our_ problems?"

"Well, I believe the Colonel is correct in saying that our respective partners would realize that we're better than any other…uh…shmuck they could have chosen."

"Not gettin' the connection there, Giles," Xander responded, confused.

"I think I see where you're going," Jack said slowly.  "Because _we_ don't feel that we have to be better than them, we _are_ better than anyone else they could have picked."

"Huh?"

"Think of it this way, Xander…do you feel the need to prove that you are stronger or faster than Rona?" Giles asked.

"No.  I'm cool with the normalness that is me."

"On my part, I don't feel that I must be better at understanding technology than Willow."

"And I don't feel the need to learn quantum physics backward and forward just because Sam knows it," Jack interjected.

"So what does this have to do with anything?" Xander responded, still confused.

"Riley _did_ feel the need to prove himself, Xander.  And in his attempts at doing so, he made Buffy feel that she needed to be _less_ than what she was, in order for him to feel adequate."

Xander thought about that for a moment before replying slowly, "So…what you're saying is that they won't leave us because we are less than they are?"

"No, no…they will choose to stay with us because we let them be who they _truly are_, to _their_ fullest extent…we are _proud_ of their accomplishments, and support them in a way that no one else could," Giles stated with a firm conviction.

"So…because I'm cool with Rona being a Slayer, and don't feel the need to compete, I'm better than anyone else she could have picked?" Xander asked.

"Exactly!  And the same goes for Willow and I, and Sam and Jack," Giles confirmed.

"Because we, in our normalness, accept Supergirl and the Geniuses for who they are, we're the best choice for them.  Huh…go figure," Jack snorted.

"Well, that's a good enough answer for me," Xander responded, jumping to his feet.

The younger man extended a hand out to Giles, helping to pull him to his feet.  Jack got up on his own, and the three men looked down at the (still) unconscious monster.

"So, shall we finish this?  This manly man is ready to go get a beer," Jack quipped.

Xander hefted his axe then placed the edge lightly on the creatures neck, he did the little golfer's hip-wiggle, and pompously stated, "In the immortal words of our ancestors…" he began to sing "I've been working on the railroad, all the livelong day…*chop*"

Jack snorted, then took the axe from him, continuing, "I've been working on the railroad…*chop*"

Getting into the mood, Giles picked up where Jack left off, "…just to pass the time away."

"Hey!" the three men shouted before chuckling.

"Huzzah!" Xander yelled, punching a fist into the air.  "We rock!"

They grinned at each other as they walked out of the alleyway, leaving the radioactive green demon to melt in their wake.

"You know what we need, Giles?" Xander said.  "A room where we could get away when we need to, instead of having to resort to walking the streets."

"Well I _am_ the Head of CoW…I could arrange it.  We _have_ been spending most of our resources on the girls and the watcher recruits, it's time we did something for ourselves.  What did you have in mind?"

"Just a large room, with all the comforts of home…you know…smooshy couches, big-screen tv, refrigerator, small kitchenette, microwave…"

"Beer…"

"Scotch…"

"Soda, chips…"

"I think that's a capital idea, Xander!"

"We could call it the 'Wound-Licking' room, and have a box that says 'before exiting this room, leave all feelings of inadequacy in this box'."

The three men laughed and joked until the wee hours of morning, coming up with crazier ideas as the time passed and the beer flowed.

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Epilogue snippet:

The 'Wound-Licking' room was a smash hit for a small group of people, though Rona, Sam, and Willow first thought it was just an excuse to create a room to watch sports where their wives wouldn't nag them.  It wasn't until, in the middle of the night, when Buffy secretly stole the contents of the 'inadequacy feeling' box, and found the matching 'what I _can_ offer her/him' box that the truth came out.  Weeding out their respective husbands' slips of paper, they read them, and were deeply moved.  

Rona found that Xander felt he wasn't strong enough and wondered if she regretted marrying him, but that feeling was matched to the slip of paper that stated 'I may not be physically strong, but emotionally, I am undefeatable.  I offer Rona my heart on a silver platter ringed with the holly leaves I know she loves so well.  I will hold her in my arms forever, unless she asks me to let her go…but, I will ask her 50 million times if she's sure before admitting defeat…and even then, I would still love her.'

Willow found that Giles felt like he was a relic left over from the dark ages, and wondered if she would have been better off married to someone younger and more 'hip', but that feeling was matched to the slip of paper that stated 'I may be older in years, but, with her, I feel younger at heart.  Willow has had my heart for several years now, so I offer her my soul to use as a blanket to wrap herself up in when she feels down.  If she wishes, I will offer her any and all resources to place the contents of my musty old books into her computer, so it will be in a more comfortable area for her to use.  And I will try to learn more about the technology she so loves.'

When Sam read hers, she fell to the floor, cracking up with laughter.  The other three women looked on in confusion, until Sam handed Buffy her slips of paper.  Buffy read outloud:

Sam?  Saaaaaam!  I know you're reading this, I know you too well to know that you would try to find out what's going on in our special room…so I'll just get to the point.  Yes, I know that you're smarter than me – after all the years we worked together, it's a proven fact.  So, to cut to the chase, sometimes I wonder if you should have hooked up with some Nobel Prize winner.  But when I think about what most of them look like, I have to say that I feel _much_ better about myself.  Now, go to the other slip of paper to see what I have to offer you…

Buffy giggled as she finished reading the paper, then began reading the other slip:

'If I get you a brand new P90, with all the trimmings, will you continue to love me?'

They all cracked up laughing.

"Did you see the little note at the bottom, Sam?" Buffy asked, smiling as she held out the slip of paper to the taller blonde woman.

"What note?" Sam asked as she picked herself up from the floor.  She reached for the note to see, in really tiny letters, '(if that's not an adequate offering, turn over)'.

Sam turned the note over, and after reading it, her eyes filled with happy tears.

"God I love that man!"

"What's it say, Sam?" Willow asked, curious.

Sam silently handed the slip of paper to the red-head, and quickly left the room, heading to the apartment she shared with her husband…she wanted to show her man just how much he meant to her.

After watching her departure, Willow turned back to the note and flipped it over.  She read it out loud:

'What can I offer to you that you don't already have.  My heart, my body, my soul…all yours.  Tell me what you need, and I will move heaven and earth to get it for you.  If you answer that I am all you need, I will humbly thank God that you find me good enough for you.  You are my everything, Sam.'

Buffy whistled, "Damn that man can sure wax poetic when he wants to."

The other two women nodded emphatically in agreement, then followed Sam's example of heading home to show their men how much they appreciated them.

The next morning found three _very_ satisfied men, and nine months later, within hours of each other, came three new members to the ever-growing next-generation of Scoobies.

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Pure mush, wasn't it.

A few notes to some of the reviewers:

Enjael – I wrote that a _descendant _of Ethan Rayne somehow managed to get added to the Scooby gene pool, not Ethan Rayne himself.  Figure he had a child at some point, who had children, who also had children (etc. etc.), until finally one of the great-however-many-greats grandchildren of Ethan Rayne married one of the descendants of Willow/Buffy/Xander.  Presto!  Now we have Rayne blood mixed in…and who's to say that a child of that union wouldn't be a mirror image of the chaos that was Ethan.  Eeeurgh!  Just thinking about that is giving me the wiggins.  And, sorry, I don't do futuristic stories with original characters – I don't think I'd be very good at it.

Catlimere – not sure if I could do a good Angel vs. Jim Ellison, so I'm going to hold off on that one.

Majin Gojira – I'm assuming you meant that you found it interesting how I made Buffy more in control than "Jim", not Blair…I found Blair to be kinda spastic in the series, but Jim being in control.  If that was what you meant, I thought I'd mention that I made it that way because Buffy is used to the weirdness, whereas Jim is a cop, someone who is always in control, and he believes he just raped someone – I figured the weirdness would throw him for a loop.

Chrissy – I wouldn't classify my portrayal of Carter as meek…more like subdued.  I had just watched "Shades of Grey", and took on the aspect of her actions as "stealing technology from friendlies", which was said to be a "court-marshallable act".  The "meekness" is more that she knew she blew it, and was keeping a low-profile in order to keep anyone else from yelling at her.  And, while Carter may have had many experiences off world, figure that Willow's "talking to" was scary due to a spectacular light-show combined with evil-Willow, with a touch of threatening really icky things should she do it again.

c-wolf – How was Chapter 1 hanging?  Since it sounds like all of you guys aren't letting me go with the continuation (or snippets) of this story, let me know what needs tying up, and I'll see what I can do.

Village Mystic – *sigh* (Shay makes a 'come on' gesture) Alright…what questions do you want answered, or what do you want to see from the "early days" or "middle" of the story?

To all of you – You're not gonna let me go on this one, are you?  *sigh*


End file.
